Two ways to correct the hyper threading problem for Grim Fandango (XP user)

This has been addressed in other posts but it isn’t quite clear. There are two ways to correct the hyper threading (HT) problem with Grim Fandango:

1. While the game is running go into task manager (CTRL+ALT+DELETE) , click on “Processes” tab, right click on GRIMFANDANGO.EXE, left click on Set Affinity, uncheck CPU 1 box and then click OK. (This doesn’t work sometimes)

2. Patch the GRIMFANDANGO.EXE using imagecfg.exe. Here’s how:

a. Download imagecfg.exe at (Thanks to both sites for providing this):

i have tried both of the above solutions and still having the same problem as before.... manny stops dead every couple steps. it took me an hour just to walk him from his office to the garage. i also tried running in windows 98 compatiiblity mode and changing the cpu affinity thru the task manager, but still no results. does anyone have any other suggestions? i am really frustrated !

wow, crap I wish I knew this earlier! stick this thread! Once I get back home (that is, in 3 weeks) I'm going to try this and see if the game works better.

edit: tried it, and works like a charm. Remeber to type "cmd" in the "run..." program under the start menu, then type in "imagecfg -a 0x1 GRIMFANDANGO.EXE" into the command prompt that should have a black background after you get to the Grim directory. Also it only worked for me when the game wasn't running.

id like to test this out, just im having 1 problem. I am supposed to change the directory in cmd. Using the command thats given i can change to any directory in my C-drive, but not to any on E, where my game is installed ;S

A few weeks ago I tried installing and running GF on my new (one year old) system (MPC ClientPro 385 /w Intel Core2 Duo processor-2.40GHZ, 4MB cache, 1066 FSB; 4GB RAM, 160GB HDD (2x80 w/RAID controller); ATI Radeon X1650PRO 512 MB PCIE video card; Creative Soundblaster Audigy SE sound card; running Windows XP Pro w/SP3). Initially, I couldn't install the game from the CDs I purchased way back when. When that problem was solved, the game wouldn't run without freezing up after about five minutes or so (video freeze/audio stuttering). I eventually solved these problems and just finished running the game from start to finish with no problems whatsoever. Since my solutions were a combination of suggestions found by searching the internet and my own trial and error, I thought I'd post what worked for me - as it seems that lots of folks are discovering this game and trying to play it on their newer systems.
1. The solution to the install problem was to download and install the Grim Fandango replacement setup and installer program from:http://quick.mixnmojo.com/grim-fandango-setup
Once this program was installed, I was able to install the entire game on my hard drive with no problems.
2. When I tried to run the game, I encountered the above described freezes and audio stuttering. I found that setting the game's properties in Win XP's compatibility mode to: "Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5)," and then setting the game's 3d Hardware Acceleration to "OFF" through the game's Options Menu provided the best results - although the freezes/stuttering continued. (Note: I tried running the game in both Windows 95 and Windows 98/ Windows ME compatibility modes, but both of these settings produced an inferior "scratchy" audio, and degraded video.)
3. More internet searching led me to a web page titled "Game Issues with Multiproccessor/ Hyperthreading Systems" at:http://www16.brinkster.com/salvage/thief/darkengine.htm
I followed the instructions on this page for the "permanent way" to fix the problem (the temporary fix didn't work for me). This consisted of downloading imagecfg and unzipping it to the two folders specified; creating processor.bat per the instructions; saving processor.bat to the game directory; copying a backup of grimfandango.exe to a different directory (just in case); and then modifying grimfandango.exe in the game directory with processor.bat.
Once I did this the game ran like a charm - no hangs, no problems with any of the puzzles (although the elevator puzzle and the crane/chain puzzle were a bit "twitchy" - just the same as when I ran the game on my older systems). But the graphics, sound, and everything else was spectacular. I've kept the compatibility mode set to "Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5)," and the hardware acceleration set to "OFF" in the game's Options Menu.

Hope this information helps anybody having problems running the game on their XP system. Good luck!

Remeber to type "cmd" in the "run..." program under the start menu, then type in "imagecfg -a 0x1 GRIMFANDANGO.EXE" into the command prompt that should have a black background after you get to the Grim directory

I tried the solution mentioned above (along with what seems like an extended version where I extracted imagecfg into Windows\system32 and Windows\system32\dllcache\, and while they seem to work on everyones for some reason it doesn't on mine! When I type "imagecfg -a 0x1 GRIMFANDANGO.EXE" into the cmd window I get an error saying:

'imagecfg' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file